Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group

The Aspen Institute and HP Inc. announced the selection of ten not-for-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations in Malaysia, Mexico, and South Africa for the 2023 Digital Equity Accelerator. Each organization is working toward the digital inclusion of marginalized populations and, with the support of the Accelerator, is poised to expand its reach and impact over the next six months. Selected organizations include:

Since digital technologies first emerged about 30 years ago, Black Americans have trailed in terms of access. This “digital divide” is real, it’s important and we can do better. According to our analysis of data from the American Community Survey, 40 percent of Black Americans do not have high-speed, fixed broadband at home, compared to 28 percent of whites.

Representatives of the Federal Communications Commission visited Baltimore to hear about residents’ experience of digital discrimination in the city. Some said the city’s past continues to affect technology access today. Some residents told the FCC that the city’s majority-Black population is concentrated in areas where internet service is slow. Others said multi-generational households often lack the funds to pay for high-speed internet service.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau granted an unopposed motion filed by Public Knowledge, The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Center for Accessible Technology, Common Cause, Common Sense Media, Communications Workers of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, The Greenlining Institute, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, MediaJustice, National Urban League, Next Century Cities, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and TURN—The Utility Reform Network seeking a 30-day extension of time for filing reply comments in the

Broadband access is an essential social determinant of health, the importance of which was made apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand disparities in broadband access within cities and identify potential solutions to increase urban access. This was a descriptive secondary analysis using multi-year cross-sectional survey data. Data were obtained from the City Health Dashboard and American Community Survey.

The Federal Communications Commission has asked for a budget increase of a little more than 5 percent for fiscal 2024 (FY 2024), given inflation and its goal of getting broadband to 100% of the US in an equitable and inclusive way. In its budget request to Congress, the FCC said its top priority is the universal broadband the Biden administration has said should be achievable by the end of the decade. To do that, the agency said, it wants a 5.3

Tonya Felsinger spent more than half her life working in the food service industry. She obtained her GED a few years ago, and her GED teacher and an administrator at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) encouraged her to try the school’s new fiber technician training course.

Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to pass rules designed to end digital discrimination. The directive could not be more clear: Enact regulations to “eliminate” existing digital discrimination on the basis of “income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin” and to prevent it from recurring in the future.

The 21st Century Cures Act and the rise of telemedicine led to a renewed focus on patient portals. However, portal use disparities persist and are in part driven by limited digital literacy. To address digital disparities in primary care, we implemented an integrated digital health navigator program supporting portal use among patients with type II diabetes. During our pilot, we were able to enroll 121 (30.9%) patients in the portal.

Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson is asking Pennsylvanians to provide input on the stakeholder engagement process for developing two plans: the State Digital Equity Plan and the Commonwealth’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Five-Year Action Plan. The two-week public comment period began on February 27 and ends Friday, March 10, 2023. The State Digital Equity Stakeholder Engagement Plan will focus on engaging eight primary populations required through federal guidance – aging individuals, incarcerated individuals, veterans, indivi